


Sunlight

by Ink_On_Parchment



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-01-05
Packaged: 2018-09-15 02:01:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9214118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ink_On_Parchment/pseuds/Ink_On_Parchment
Summary: It’s this, this moment right here, that makes him a morning person. Even if the stress of work had never even crossed his mind, if he hated the predawn glow lighting up the city, if he wasn’t just naturally inclined to wake up and go, mind buzzing, this would have changed that. These moments when the world is quiet and warm and wonderful and he has a sleep-ruffled Steve sitting up in bed with his hair sticking up and his shirt crooked, they would have made it worth it.





	

He wakes up slowly, for once, drifting out a dream he’s already forgetting to find the light from the rising sun starting to tint the room in pale golden light. It’s one of the main reasons he picked this floor, and eventually made this particular room his bedroom, and he doesn’t think he’ll ever tire of the view of the city at the break of dawn. He takes a moment just to look, content to just lie there for a moment, reveling in the sleep-warm skin pressed along his back. The covers are twisted and tangled around them, keeping all the lovely warmth from escaping. He almost gives into temptation to hike the blankets even higher and stay there for a while, but he knows that it will just throw his day off more than anything, especially as it’s not a planned lazy day.

Instead, he gently lifts the covers so that he can begin the process of untangling himself from his light-sleeping husband. The air is cold, or so he thinks, on the outside of their blanket cocoon and he looks around of a robe or pants or something because he is starting to sorely miss the serum-increased body heat he shared not moments ago. He looks back at the mess of blankets he just extracted himself from and somehow finds it in himself to stand and move away from the temptation.

It’s still mostly dark, what with it not being six yet, and the city lights don’t stand a chance at this height, so the only real light sources are the arc reactor and the few rays of sunlight, both of which end up throwing Steve’s face into sharp relief, all jawline and cheekbones and eyelashes. There’s a part of him that twists, warm and comfortable and settled like he never thought he’d feel, and he feels the sappy smile that he will deny curl his lips. It’s an expression that has become more and more frequent in the past nine years, and he knows that it’s not something that will change in the next nine.

He stands there for a moment, just taking it in like he doesn’t always get to. It’s nice, slowing down enough to just appreciate everything around him. It’s normally not that easy, not with the sharp sense of urgency that trails after them telling him _this_ could be the last time he sees Steve, or any of their rag-tag family really. Steve’s face is relaxed in a way it isn’t unless he’s sleeping deeply or is content, and he hopes that it’s both. There’s no tightness around his eyes, no tension in his jaw, and it’s so rare that Tony has trouble tearing his eyes away.

He does, eventually, turn away towards his closet. There’s nothing he’d rather be doing that standing there breathing it in, but he knows that the stress and guilt and sleeplessness that would result from skipping even the morning of work just isn’t something he wants his day to devolve into, not when it started out so well.

So he rummages through his clothes long enough to find jeans and a t-shirt that he doesn’t mind wearing to the lab, and then even longer to find a something to wear _after that_ for the R and D meeting he knows is going to be boring enough to put him back to sleep. He starts toward the bathroom, clothes in hand and already prioritizing what absolutely has to be done so he can get out at a decent hour.

Some would be surprised, he knows, that he isn’t in bed all day instead of actually working, and that is generally an image he plays up, but it’s just as much of an act as most of his public persona is. He may not be CEO anymore, and there isn’t a day goes by that he isn’t grateful that Pepper is her incredibly competent self, but he’s _still_ Chief Engineer, and he still cares about his company. It’s why he puts in the hours he does _on top of_ his hours for the Avengers, and why he isn’t currently warm under his duvet.

The room is lit when he walks back in, or, at least, lit to the 45% that won’t blind them this early in the morning. Steve is propped up against the pillows, stretching and acting for all the world like his enhanced hearing hadn’t picked up the water running or his footsteps. He almost feels guilty, because Steve gets about as much sleep as he does, which is frankly not nearly enough, but he forgets about it as Steve’s eyes catch his, all half-lidded and sleepy and his smile is brighter than the sun coming through the windows.

He takes the three steps back to the bed without really noticing, leaning down to clasp his hand on Steve’s shoulder even as he presses his lips to Steve’s. There’s a warmth settling in his chest, a feeling of contentedness that he wouldn’t have recognized not that many years ago, and he knows that he is mirroring the small, sappy smile on Steve’s face when he pulls away.

There’s a beat of silence, of warmth in the mid-dawn sunlight, and Tony isn’t surprised when Steve rasps out a sleepy “Good morning,”.

And it’s _this, this moment right here_ , that makes him a morning person. Even if the stress of work had never even crossed his mind, if he hated the predawn glow lighting up the city, if he wasn’t just naturally inclined to wake up and go, mind buzzing, _this_ would have changed that. These moments when the world is quiet and warm and wonderful and he has a sleep-ruffled Steve sitting up in bed with his hair sticking up and his shirt crooked, they would have made it worth it.

“With you, always.” He says, and he means it, oh how he means it. He thumbs the platinum band on his finger and returns the mega-watt smile he receives, and knows that if this is what he has to look forward to, he will be a morning person for the rest of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
